Beirutopia: Could Lebanon's capital become a garden city?

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Photos:The Beirut Wonder Forest

Beirut 'Wonder Forest' – Beirut has a chronic lack of green space. In search of a solution, Lebanese architect Wassim Melki has proposed covering the city's rooftops with trees. This computer generated image shows what Beirut's skyline would look like.

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Photos:The Beirut Wonder Forest

Beirut 'Wonder Forest' – View of Beirut at dusk from the district of Gemmayzeh, taken in June 2009. The World Health Organization recommends 12 sq/m of green space per capita in urban areas. It estimates Beirut has only 0.8 sq/m per person.

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Photos:The Beirut Wonder Forest

Beirut 'Wonder Forest' – This artist's impression of the "Wonder Forest" shows individual trees planted in pots, sitting on the rooftops in Beirut. Melki says that even with just one tree per rooftop, there would be as many trees as in New York's Central Park.

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Photos:The Beirut Wonder Forest

Beirut 'Wonder Forest' – A bird's eye view of the projected impact. A recent United Nations Development Program report said that Beirut will add 300,000 new buildings in the next decade, leaving the already crowded city with virtually no public spaces.

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Photos:The Beirut Wonder Forest

Beirut 'Wonder Forest' – Artist's impression of a sapling Savior tree in a basic tin pot. Melki claims that this simple method will avoid the need for complicated drainage systems.

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Photos:The Beirut Wonder Forest

Beirut 'Wonder Forest' – Aerial view of Beirut today. The largest park, the Horsh al-Sanawbar -- seen in the bottom right of the image -- has been mostly closed to the public since the mid-1990s, according to the Beirut Green Project.

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Photos:The Beirut Wonder Forest

The Beirut 'Wonder Forest' – A computer generated aerial view of the city after Wonder Forest has been installed. Melki says: "Just imagine: The world's first rooftop garden city."

The legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon are the inspiration behind an ambitious plan to grow a rooftop forest high above Beirut's crowded streets.

The cityscape is currently overshadowed by concrete highrises, with parkland making up just 3% of Lebanon's capital, according to a study by the American University of Beirut.

The lack of greenery has contributed to poor air quality and trapped heat, among a host of other environmental issues, claims architect Wassim Melki. This led him to the the unconventional idea of greening over the city's rooftops.

"We want to cover the top of nearly every building in the city with trees," said Melki.

Challenging though it sounds, Melki's proposal does not involve complicated drainage systems or engineering.

"We're just talking about planting small to medium-sized trees in relatively large pots and securing them to the roofs," he added.

The 28-year-old architect claims there are 15,000 suitable rooftops -- around 80% of those in the city. "Even planting just one on each would result in as many trees as there are in New York's Central Park," he said.

With colleagues at local NGO ReAct, Melki aims to plant 60,000 trees eventually. They say that as well as making a sizable dent in the level of carbon dioxide in the air, the trees would also create a rooftop canopy, casting shadows on the streets and helping to keep the city cool.

Nevertheless, Wonder Forest, if realized, would not be comparable to a public park. "Planting trees in the ground is always preferable, and nothing can replace a wide open space to walk through," said Melki.

Comment: Would you give the scheme your support? Is the Wonder Forest project a feasible and much needed innovation or a pretty but impractical pipe dream? Tell us you thoughts in the comments section below.

Melki estimates the total cost of the project at $3.5-4 million and is currently lobbying for the Wonder Forest via NGO ReAct and a Facebook page.

Ultimately though, the success of the idea is in the hands of Beirut's residents -- who would need to tend the gardens, particularly over the hot summer months.

"Even if all the trees and their installation is provided, if the residents don't subsequently get involved, then the plan will fail," said Melki.

There could also be benefits for the green fingered, says Melki, who could turn a profit growing and selling olives and citrus fruits, which thrive in Beirut's Mediterranean climate.